The COVID-19 pandemic did something unexpected to American cities. It put people back on bikes. In 2025, 112 million Americans, aged three and older, were riding bicycles at least once. Electric bikes, which rose in demand in the early 2020s, have shifted the rhythm of transportation in various cit ies. School pickups often take place on cargo bikes instead of SUVs, while young commuters weave through neighborhoods on affordable e-bikes rather than sitting in traffic. Still, Andrea Aponte of CycleSafeLA believes the city has not fully caught up to this shift. A League of American Bicyclists-certified cycling instructor, Aponte has spent more than a decade teaching riders how to safely navigate city streets. According to her, LA has embraced the conversation around bike infrastructure while overlooking the equally critical need for public education. She points to Los Angeles’s Vision Zero initiative, launched in 2015 with a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities. Yet, she cites recent city data that shows roadway deaths continue to rise. With that context in mind, Aponte believes the conversation has become too heavily centered on physical infrastructure without enough attention placed on the human element of transportation safety. Protected lanes matter, she adds, but real-world cycling conditions are far more complicated than paint on pavement. “People still need to understand what they’re doing when they’re out on the road and what their rights are,” Aponte says. “All the green striping in the world and all the plastic bollards still require people to know how to react in real situations.” What makes the current moment particularly acute, Aponte argues, is that the population of new riders may be growing faster than the systems designed to keep them safe. For many young people, an e-bike might replace the family car as the first mode of independent transportation. She says, “For many kids turning 16, getting a car isn’t a reality anymore. So a lot of them are getting e-bikes as the affordable alternative.” Aponte points to everyday hazards riders often face across the city, including blocked lanes, sudden merges, and the “door zone” created when parked drivers open vehicle doors into bike paths. She adds, “A bike lane is going to disappear at some point. You still need to merge, scan traffic, understand lane positioning, and know how to respond when conditions change.” Education, as she sees it, can be the inflection point. According to her, it can give riders the confidence to manage those moments instead of reacting out of panic. Aponte also believes the responsibility for coexistence cannot rest entirely on cyclists themselves. “We need to start teaching drivers those same things,” she explains. “Sharing the road with micromobility users should be a much bigger part of driver education.” At the same time, she notes that pedestrians, wheelchair users, scooter riders, and anyone outside a vehicle occupy a vulnerable position within LA traffic systems. Keeping that in mind, Aponte argues that a safer transportation culture depends on recognizing those road users as active participants instead of hindrances. “We are traffic, in fact, an active part of the traffic. A delay for a driver is an annoyance that can be simply fixed with a lane change, but for the cyclist, that can be a matter of survival,” she states, noting that this perspective often gets lost in public discourse surrounding cyclists. She believes misconceptions around riders tend to shape hostile attitudes on the road. Aponte explains, “People think cyclists don’t belong there, but we absolutely do, based on the vehicle code. Many of us own cars too, we’re paying our taxes, we’re still contributing to the system, and we have our rights in it.” Her work with CycleSafeLA focuses on building confidence along with technical skills. Since becoming certified, Aponte highlights teaching riders of varying ages and experience levels, including adults learning to ride for the first time. Nothing compares, she notes, to watching someone realize they are capable of navigating the city independently. She says, “There’s a lot of joy involved in it. People feel empowered when they learn this skill.” Aponte recalls earlier years when publicly funded education programs made those opportunities more accessible. She points to bicycle safety clinics and after-school cycling programs such as Metro BEST, Bicycle Education Safety Training, noting that they once offered free instruction throughout LA communities. According to her, many of those initiatives have since faded due to funding gaps. Aponte believes restoring those resources could reshape how residents experience the city itself. She says, “When people ride bikes, they connect with their neighborhoods differently. They’ll notice more, interact with people, and feel more connected with the community.” Her vision for LA lies in seeing education as a practical pathway toward mutual understanding and greater, safer mobility for everyone sharing the road. “We don’t need to reinvent anything. We just need to invest in people and teach them how to move safely together,” she adds. Bicycle education, from her perspective, is ultimately about empowerment, which begins with the knowledge that the rider belongs on the road, understands their rights, and can move through the city with confidence. Until the city’s educational investment reflects that reality, Aponte argues that the infrastructure it builds will remain incomplete. She says, “At the end of the day, people should be able to get on a bike and feel freedom, not fear. Each of us needs to be working toward that reality.” The post Pedaling Toward Safer Streets: Why Los Angeles Needs a New Era of Cycling Education appeared first on LA Weekly. ...read more read less